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Photo Lab with Simon Staiger
By DPG Editorial Staff, May 14, 2016 @ 06:00 AM (EST)

DPG editors Lia Barrett and Joe Tepper take a detailed look at five of reader Simon Staiger’s images, giving him pointers and feedback on how he might improve them.


Olympus OM-D E-M1, Nauticam NA-EM1 housing, 14–150mm lens at 14mm, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes (f/22, 1/320s, ISO 200)


Lia Barrett: There’s always a small flutter of the stomach when you look up and see that a turtle is swimming towards the surface to breathe. Though you’ve seen it before, the chance to capture a silhouette against a burst of sunlight is truly a perfect add to any photographer’s portfolio. In this case, while you’ve nailed the silhouette part, there are some funky things going on in the highlights, as they look a little overcorrected and thus a bit flat. Next time, I’d pull down the exposure even more, so that you don’t have to rely as much on post-processing to compensate for the highlights being blown out. I’d also love to see this in color: With this low exposure, there should be a wonderful richness to the blues in the water.

Joe Tepper: Turtle silhouettes are a great idea. The animal has such a recognizable shape that lends itself perfectly to these types of shots. Timing is an important part of silhouette shots—you really need that sun ball to be completely behind the subject to pull it off. However, I actually like the composition here, as the focal point (the brightest area of the sun ball) is located at a “rule of thirds” intersection.
 

Olympus OM-D E-M1, Nauticam NA-EM1 housing, 60mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes (f/20, 1/320s, ISO 200)


Lia: These nudibranchs are so nice to photograph because the contrast between the purples and the yellows allows for a very pleasing “pop” to spring forth. I think you’ve got a good composition working here, but I would pull up the highlights, as the image is a bit flat. Once you pull up the highlights, you will notice a greater punch in your colors, which will give the overall image a more pleasing tone.

Joe: I will maintain that nudibranchs are simultaneously the easiest and the hardest macro subject. Sure, they stay put (relatively) giving you loads of time to light and compose. But without eyes, it’s hard to create a connection with the viewer. You have done that here by using a higher aperture value to keep the rhinophores—and much of the rest of the body—in focus. The crop (or composition) of the image does feel a little tight to me. I like that you’re trying to keep some of the distracting elements out of the frame, but I feel the subject needs more room, especially in front of it.
 

Olympus OM-D E-M1, Nauticam NA-EM1 housing, 60mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes (f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 200)


Lia: I like how you have gone for a more interesting angle in your nudibranch compositions, and are not just shooting from above. You’ve done a nice job on exposure, sharpness and detail, and have a macro shooter’s black background worked out just nicely. I’d consider playing with angles next time just to see what you come up with. Move a bit to each side and see if you can bring in a little more information into the frame where the body is concerned. You might also consider working on the highlights and mid tones to bring out a little more contrast, for though this image is less so than the previous one, there is still a slight flatness to the tonal range.

Joe: The composition of this nudi image is made stronger by the fact you were able to get below the subject and shoot up—a rare opportunity for a critter that’s often stuck to the bottom. I also like the use of a slightly more aperture to blur out the back of the subject to draw attention to the rhinophores. However, the one big issue I have with this image is that the subject is cut off at the bottom. It may seem like a small detail, but it makes a big compositional difference.
 

Olympus OM-D E-M1, Nauticam NA-EM1 housing, 60mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes (f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 200)


Lia: You have a great exposure, lighting and composition going on in this frame. What a hard subject to capture, by the way! The extra cherry on top would be to wait for the seahorse to sit up a bit more. I know that can be a big demand, seeing as how you might have had other buddies in line, had a deco limitation, or didn’t want to harm the little guy. But if I could have all of my wishes and that extra cherry, I’d ask that he were slightly more upright—or better yet, looking straight at you.

Joe: This is my favorite image of the series. You’ve taken a prized super macro subject—the pygmy seahorse—and instead of producing another humdrum profile image, you’ve gone abstract. The use of the pattern in the pink coral, combined with the stark black negative space is great. Then the placement of the seahorse on a “rule of thirds” intersection is the perfect touch. The only post-processing change I’d like to see is a little use of the un-sharpening mask to make the subject a bit crisper.
 

Olympus OM-D E-M1, Nauticam NA-EM1 housing, 60mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes (f/7.1, 1/320s, ISO 200)


Lia: This photo has a few really great elements. I love the textures and composition and how you are playing with depth of field. The exposure and lighting are also working, even though the image is evenly lt. For me, if you’re going to use a shallow depth of field, I would actually consider looking straight on at the fish instead of at a tilted bird’s eye view, with the fish’s body on two different planes. But this is just a personal preference, as some people will like the bokeh here. You’re definitely on the right track with composition, but I’d perhaps compose slightly more to the right, so that the fish’s figure slices right through the frame at a diagonal, carrying the viewer’s eye with it. Finally, again, I’d bring the highlights back, so the fish’s scales and warmer colors can “pop” more.

Joe: Remember how awesome it was when you got below the nudi in the shot above? This really could have benefited from that—a head’s-on view of the fish, rather than shooting down. This would have also complemented the use of bokeh, to slightly blur the coral polyps, while keeping the subject’s eyes in focus. Also, the use of a compositional leading line is great, but I’d personally like to see less tight of a framing with more negative space to balance out the colors and textural differences.

 

Final Comments

Lia: I think Simon has great potential. He is proficient with lighting, exposure and focus, and he has a sense of framing and angles that tell us he’s thinking when he’s shooting. My biggest piece of advice has to do with post-processing. We are all wary of “blowing out” our highlights, but lower them too much and you risk a flat image, losing those crispy, beautiful punches of color that we so love in underwater creatures. So other than a few other tweaks with capturing the moment and shooting angle, I’d go back to the raw files, and see what else can be done.

Joe: Simon is right there—where the images are so close to being professional grade but are just missing one (usually small) adjustment. Sometimes it’s the cropping off of a tiny sliver of a nudibrach. Other times it’s a sun ball a fraction off from being perfectly placed behind an ascending turtle. One more review of the photo before moving on will help fix these oversights. Combine this with Lia’s post-processing advice and his shots will check off all of the boxes.

 



About Simon Staiger: Germany-based Simon is 28 years old and began diving in 2009. He has been shooting underwater since 2013 and started with a small Canon compact without flash. In 2015, he wanted to get more serious and upgraded to an Olympus OM-D E-M1 in a Nauticam housing with two Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes. His favorite destination for underwater photography is Indonesia because of the macro opportunities as well as the possibility of seeing big fish. On his recent trips, he has focused on macro, but is now ready to take on some wide angle.

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